Embodiments of the present invention relate to a horizontal connection arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1 for subsea connection of a first single bore or multibore hub arranged on a first subsea module of a subsea oil and/or gas production system or subsea water and/or gas injection system to a second single bore or multibore hub arranged on a second subsea module of said system.
Different components of a subsea oil and/or gas production system, i.e. a subsea system for processing and transport of oil and/or gas, may have a modular construction and comprise interchangeable modules mounted to a seabed-based foundation structure. The respective module may be adapted to be mounted to the foundation structure by being lowered vertically downwards into engagement with the foundation structure and demounted from the foundation structure by being lifted vertically upwards away from the foundation structure. Hereby, it will be possible to easily adapt the system as needed to the prevailing processing conditions by adding or removing individual modules, and it will also be possible to disconnect an individual module and retrieve it to the surface for repair or replacement of components. Modularized subsea oil production systems with this type of modules are for instance disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,625,805 A and 5,025,865 A.
In a modularized subsea system of the above-mentioned type, there is sometimes a need to connect fluid conduits of two adjacent modules to each other in a horizontal direction. Said fluid conduits may for instance comprise hydraulic lines and/or gas lines. Several fluid conduits of a first module which are to be connected to corresponding fluid conduits of a second module may end in a first multibore hub arranged on the first module, wherein the corresponding fluid conduits of the second module end in a corresponding multibore hub arranged on the second module. The hubs are to be so located on the respective module that they will be positioned in front of and in alignment with each other when the two modules have assumed their final position in relation to each other. One of the hubs may then be moved horizontally forwards by means of an actuating device into engagement with the other hub, whereupon the hubs are secured to each other by means of a connector, for instance in the form of a clamp connector or collet connector. The connector is for instance fixed to the first module before this module is lowered into the sea for installation, wherein the connector surrounds an outer end of the hub of the first module and is configured to receive an outer end of the hub of the second module when the hubs are brought into contact with each other. When one of the modules is landed onto a landing platform or interface of a seabed-based foundation structure of the subsea system during installation of the module next to the other module, a certain running clearance, i.e. a certain interspace, has to be maintained between the connector of the first module and the hub of the second module in order to prevent the connector from bumping into this hub. When the module has been landed onto the landing platform/interface, an actuating device has to perform a horizontal stroke in order to move one of the hubs into contact with the other hub. During the final part of this stroke, the outer end of the hub of the second module is received inside the connector. Thus, the total stroke length required for moving one of the hubs into contact with the other hub will in this case correspond to the running clearance plus the axial length of the part of the hub of the second module received inside the connector.